sep 16th, 2007
i think it's inevitable that a new japanese PM will be less pacifist than those that have been forced to be in the recent past. the increasing belligerence of china is cause for severe concern. where is the right-wing mayor of tokyo? i forget his name but he has written strongly right-wing tracts and has been fairly friendly towards india. i hope people like that come to power.
did anyone see the tom cruise film 'the last samurai'? showed the honor, but also the end, of the samurai period in the face of relentless mechanization, including the use of machine guns against cavalry. sounds like this man below was active during that period.
on a side note, the parallels between the samurai of japan and the kalari payat-exponent chekavars of kerala (both mercenaries on behalf of feudal kings) are interesting.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Malolan
[http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2007/09/12/shinzo_abe_taro_aso/index.html ]
Sayonara, Shinzo Abe
You do not get more connected than Liberal Democratic Party Secretary
General Taro Aso, a leading candidate to be the next prime minister
of Japan. He is the grandson of one prime minister -- Shigeru
Yoshida, who negotiated the peace treaty ending World War II -- and
the son-in-law of another, Zenko Suzuki. His father was close to
Kakuei Tanaka, Japan's most powerful postwar prime minister, and his
younger sister is married to the first cousin of Emperor Akihito.
And to top it all off, he is the great-great grandson of Okubo
Toshimichi, one of the most fascinating figures in modern Japanese
history. Okubo was a key leader of Japan's Meiji Reformation, which
ended the 240-year rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and ushered in a
period of rapid government-directed modernization. For industrial
policy fans, the Meiji Reformation sets the gold standard.
Called by one biographer "the Bismarck of Japan," Okubo was a samurai
who ended up forbidding Japan's samurai from wearing their swords in
public. He was a leader of a rebellion from Satsuma who ended up
crushing another rebellion, also from Satsuma, while leading an army
of government conscripts. Perhaps more responsible than any other
single man for helping Japan escape Western imperialist domination,
he was assassinated at age 48 by clansmen who believed he had
betrayed his own domain and the samurai class.
... deleted
4 comments:
The right-wing mayor of Tokyo was Shintaro Ishihara who wrote the book "The Japan that can say No"
Yup, saw 'The Last Samurai'. Beautiful pictures of northern mountainous Japan & the proud Samurai. Loved it, especially their sense of 'Bushido', the way of the warrior. Though the film is not historically accurate, it does portray Meiji Japan.
And yes, a lot of similarities between the Samurai & the Kalaripayyat of the Nairs of Kerala. Also the Japanese & Chinese style of constructing houses & temples reflects Kerala's style of construction.
the samurai sense of honor is remarkable. and admirable. courage in the face of all odds.
the kalari payat warriors of kerala used to have among them the 'chaver' warriors, a handful of whom would fight the entire army of the zamorin, facing certain death. inspiring sense of honor and valor.
in the interest of accuracy, the kalaris were run by thiyyas in malabar, by nairs in central kerala, and by nadars in southern kerala. i say this so that nobody feels their contribution is being ignored.
Thanks for the info Rajeev. As you mentioned 3 communities, let me mention a 4th one too. I read that a segment of Namboodiri Brahmins too were exponents of the Kalari Martial Art until about 200 years ago. The Namboodiris with the family-name/last-name of Nambisan was once such group practicing Kalari. Hard to believe a martial Brahmin community, but true.
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